A Seahawks Preseason Game

Another football season is underway! We took the boys to a Seahawk's preseason game and of course they had a blast. Go Hawks!

{We found some friends at the game!}

Happy Birthday David!

For David's birthday, the boys made him some very sweet cards and a banana cream pie, David's favorite! They were not impressed with the one lonely candle, though. 

Happy 42nd Birthday David!! 

 

{Adults only birthday dinner at Frank's Oyster House & Champagne Parlor}

Monroe Goes to Jump Start

Seattle Public Schools has a program called Jump Start where incoming kindergarteners go to school for a few mornings during August to get familiar with the school, meet some teachers, and get a little bit more comfortable with the idea of going to "big kid school".  It was no surprise that Monroe did great and he is now more excited that ever to start kindergarten!

And the while Monroe was at jump start, Parker, Conway, and I went for a hike at Discovery Park!

9th Annual Family Beach Trip: Seaside

We went back to Seaside for our annual family beach trip again this year - new house, same beach. Damian, Elly, Elias, and Amelia weren't able to join us this year, but Grandma Connie came! There were lots of walks on the beach, daily trips to get ice cream, and David and Matt even took the kids to the amusement park. There was also an epic amount of soccer and baseball on the beach for the kids and a pretty epic amount of relaxation for the adults. I'd call that a pretty perfect trip to the beach. And here are some pictures...

P.S. 8th Annual Family Beach Trip: Seaside 

Parker's 10th Birthday Party

Parker's 10th birthday party started off with a soccer game. Then they transitioned over to the baseball diamond for a bit of baseball. And that was followed up by hotdogs, chips, watermelon, and cupcakes. It was a big sports extravaganza and by the end everyone was exhausted from the fun. Happy Birthday Parker!!

Parker Turns Ten!

Parker at 10 Years Old
Height: 55.3in (60%)
Weight: 67lb 10oz (40%)

Parker is now double digits! How could it be that he came into this world a whole decade ago?! It is amazing to see Parker evolve as a person and it's fun to see bits of baby Parker, toddler Parker, and little boy Parker still in him now at ten years old. He's bigger and arguably more mature, but still the same little guy that made us parents. He's still a curious observer who wants to know how and why things work the way they do. He's still caring and full of love. And even though he isn't a baby anymore, he will always be our baby. Parker requested a frozen yogurt cake with his face on it for his birthday dessert along with a menu for each meal of the day. See below for what that looked like. And here is a little bit more about ten year old Parker. He...

• still loves to snuggle and read together before bed.
• often asks for back scratches and back massages.
• loves to make people laugh and can be very, very silly. We continue to work on when and where this is appropriate.
• did an amazing job with virtual learning while schools were shut down for Covid. In fact, he said that he thinks it may have been his favorite school year. He did have the most amazing teacher and a really great cohort of kids in his class. Plus, he did kind of benefit from doing school without all the distractions of the classroom.
• continues to work on keeping his focus where it needs to be at any given moment. He can often identify this on his own now, though, which we hope is a step in the right direction. 
• still loves to sing and hum and generally make noise.
• has been showing signs of adolescence and the attitude that often comes with it.
• has gotten really good at playing the piano. His favorite parts are improvising and playing fast.
• loves raspberries, pizza rolls, and frozen yogurt.
• very much dislikes mushrooms, squash, and asparagus.
• is a really great big brother when he wants to be.
• really likes to make comments about what everyone else is doing, what they should be doing, and what they shouldn't be doing. At least he can identify those things for other people?
• still loves to play with stuffed animals with his brothers. Recently he officiated a wedding between his favorite stuffed dog, Fluff, and his stuffed bunny, Bean.
• is very excited about getting taller and loves that he can jump and touch the top of the doorways in our house. There are lots of fingerprints to prove it.
• is becoming a really good soccer player! So much so that we finally gave in and signed him up for Seattle United, a competitive youth soccer program. So far he's loving all the practices and he's played well in a couple of tournaments this summer. This kid is a goal scoring machine and we hope he continues to love the sport. 

Happy 10th Birthday Parker! We are so proud of you!

P.S. Parker Turns Nine, Birth Announcement